


Spes Lucifer Morituro

by Anonymous



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Angst, Bill is kinda nice, Bullied Dipper Pines, Dipper has problems, Dipper is awkward, Emotional Manipulation, Fluff, Human Bill Cipher, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magical!AU, Mentions of Suicide, Older Dipper Pines, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Stans are kinda protective, Vingenère Cipher, also bill is out for blood, and he has second thoughts about world domination, but also a jerk, but also cute, different worlds dynamic, dipper is a sweetheart, encryption, he doesn't deserve manipulation, mabel is supportive, mostly she's just rude, not really fueled by lust, oh and also its more of an emotional bond between dipper and bill, puzzle, slight Mabel bashing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-20 20:29:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14901455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Dipper officially sucks at life. He’s expected to become the defender of Gravity Falls when he gets older. Except he can’t cast a single damn spell. To escape the mockery and disappointment, he disappears into the deep wood, where abominations and evil beyond humanity is contained. He should have known better than to accept the offer from the man in the woods, but nothing is ever free and there’s always bigger plans in play.





	1. Chapter 1- Barrier

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome!!! I’m really excited about working on this piece! I hope to receive feedback from you, as it really helps to motivate me. The Vingenère cipher at the end isn’t required to enjoy the story, but I really recommend decrypting it. The keyword shoukdnt be hard to find, it’s pretty obvious and at the end of the normal text. Enjoy!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “HEY! What ya lookin at kiddo?”
> 
> Dipper could literally feel his soul leaving his body. He whipped around as the rabbit fled and found his eyes resting upon a suspiciously happy man sitting on a tree stump.
> 
> The mysterious man was basically coated in yellow and black. He wasn’t wearing anything really out of the ordinary, and for the most part wore normal clothes. The only thing out of the ordinary, it seemed, was black sword he kept at his side. He had pointed ears, and lots or earrings. Dipper’s attention was pulled to the man’s golden hair and yellow eyes.
> 
> As he collected his whits, Dipper manage to utter a particularly pathetic;
> 
> “W-who are you?”
> 
> It came out as more of a squeak than anything.
> 
> The man seemed to look Dipper up and down for a second before answering simply. “Name’s Bill”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome!!! I’m really excited about working on this piece! I hope to receive feedback from you, as it really helps to motivate me. The Vingenère cipher at the end isn’t required to enjoy the story, but I really recommend decrypting it. The keyword shouldnt be hard to find, it’s pretty obvious and at the end of the normal text. Enjoy!!!

_‘Today was going to be a great day’ Dipper thought to himself._

Key word being was.

Everything was sunshine and rainbows until Robbie and his group of wannabe gangsters decided that they were tired of kicking around garbage and wanted to dig their feet into something else. That something else being Dipper. 

It was just another day of training that Dipper completely failed at. At the conclusion of it he began to walk home, immediately noticing he was being followed.

Dipper was an easy target. He couldn’t cast some of the most simple spells, especially defensive or offensive ones. He was helpless. For some reason, people found that funny.

After they were done with him, Dipper was shoved into a conveniently placed ditch of mud and left to wallow in his pain as they gave each other high fives and slaps on the back.

Dipper laid on his back, staring at the sky as wiped the mud from his face and let his arms fall. His body hurt, bruises blossoming all over. Luckily he could cast the most simple of healing spells, but it didn’t really help past small cuts. Looking at the hilariously cheerful clouds over looked by the sun, he thought to himself.

_‘Why is the whole world so damn happy while I’m here, laying in a mud pit? I feel like the universe has it out for me.’_

Actually, the more he thought about it, he actually dawned upon the realization that most likely, the universe did hate him. After all, he was a ‘protégé’ to the two highest ranking guardians in Gravity Falls, and he couldn’t cast a single damn spell. Of course, it was only his Grunkles, but they were still powerful. He was born with a stupid birthmark on the most inconvenient place, his forehead. Most of all, he was supposed to be a ‘celestial wizard’ or some bull like that and he was at the bottom of his magical training class. How pathetic. 

Dipper sat up and tried his best to wipe off as much mud as he could, but despite his best efforts he still looked like something that has just crawled out of the forest. He tried to get onto his feet, but a wave of dizziness washed over him and he tried to steady himself. You’d think after all of the times he’d gotten beat up, he’d be used to it by now. Just another think to add to the list; ‘REASONS WHY DIPPER SUCKS’. It included things like;  
-Can’t cast a single spell  
-Can’t defend self  
-Sucks at basic human communication  
-Is expected to take over guardian role  
-Does nothing but write all day  
-Makes stupid lists like this

After he’d gotten out of the ditch, Dipper made sure to try his best to avoid everyone to save himself more embarrassment. Once out of town, he made a beeline back for home, his mind thinking about one thing only; his journal.

The shack was is a separate part of The Falls, in a section of cleared woods right next to the barrier. It was quite fitting. It was a guardians job to maintain the barrier holding back all of the evil in the deep woods. Someday, Dipper would be one of them, if only he could muster the magical energy. They were fierce magicians with the courage and power to fight even the most vicious abominations the forest could produce. Basically, the spitting image of everything Dipper wasn’t. 

The Falls was a little village, basically cut off from the rest of the world, if there even was one. For hundreds of years, there’d been no other contact beyond the village, ever since the war. That was a story for another time. After the war, survivors; human and mythical alike; founded the town in hopes of starting over, but there was one problem. There was so much evil and chaos around the struggling village, hope was dying out fast. So a few powerful sorcerers rose up and combined strength to confine the evil into a deep section of wood, to preserve the hopeful little town. Blah blah blah, happily ever after. Honestly, Dipper thought it was kind of exaggerated. Kind of like those fairytale books you read as a toddler. 

Finally opening the door to the shack, Dipper flew upstairs to clean himself up. Failing to receive an extremely confused and concerned look from his sister, he went into the bathrooms to clean off the mud and fix up his wounds. As he was cleaning up, Mable knocked on the door. 

“Hey Dip, you ok?” There was a hint of concern in her voice. Dipper let out an ‘uh-huh’ in reply. She sighed, not buying it but not going further. 

“Stan and Ford are out in the village. Guardian stuff. Apparently, there are some flares of magic going on in the deep wood. But never mind that, they won’t be back for awhile” she left, leaving Dipper to himself. Afterward, he headed back to his room or retrieve his journal. Not wasting another second, he walked out the door and into the forest at the edge of the barrier.

He really wasn’t supposed to be out there, all the ‘danger’ and stuff. He’d been going out here for months and nobody's seen him. He’d come back each time so obviously, it wasn’t as bad as people made it out to be. The deep forest was forbidden and nobody but guardians were supposed to be out there. But Dipper was a guardian, right? 

Of course he wasn’t stupid enough to actually cross the barrier, but he was close enough to faintly hear the shrieks and roars of the creatures within. Mainly, he was interested in recording the interesting magical fauna and flora that grew along the edge. Not that anyone else cared, but there were many variations of and even entirely different species along the barrier, and definitely within. Nobody else really wondered, and they didn’t really have a reason to. Why would they need to know when they were raised to fear the things in there? Dipper just thought that the undiscovered life was so fascinating. What caused the change in genes in the species? It was all just so captivating. This is basically how Dipper seems spent all of his time. Recording everything in his journal. Paving a path for anyone who could possibly have similar interests.

And as if to prove a point, fate seemed to just love messing with him. As he was silently crouched, observing a white rabbit with sprouts in its coat, a loud and obnoxious voice erupted a few feet behind him.

“HEY! What ya lookin' at kiddo?”

Dipper could literally feel his soul leaving his body. He whipped around as the rabbit fled and found his eyes resting upon a suspiciously happy man sitting on a tree stump. 

The mysterious man was basically coated in yellow and black. He wasn’t wearing anything really out of the ordinary, and for the most part, wore normal clothes. The only thing out of the ordinary, it seemed, was black sword he kept at his side. He had pointed ears, and lots or earrings. Dipper’s attention was pulled to the man’s golden hair and yellow eyes. 

As he collected his whits, Dipper manage to utter a particularly pathetic;

“W-who are you?” 

It came out as more of a squeak than anything.

The man seemed to look Dipper up and down for a second before answering simply. “Name’s Bill” before sticking out his hand and showing a startlingly pointy smile. 

Dipper didn’t rake the hand and with a dawning sense of horror, realized that the man was actually beyond the barrier. He was a monster. Dipper immediately shut the journal, not even finishing up his writing. He was determined to book it out of there. 

Unfortunately, that only seemed to draw attention to the leather bound book and he saw Bill roll his head sideways in curiosity, like a cat. The man readjusted himself and looked Dipper in the eye before speaking; 

“Actually you might want to correct your little journal there. Those ‘Grass Rabbits’ of yours are actually called ‘florent lepus’ and they don’t appreciate being gawked at”.

Dipper looked at then man, then his journal, and back at the man again.

“Why so shy? I’m only trying to help you.” Bill shrugged in annoyance over Dipper’s silence. The man only motioned for Dipper to come closer, sighing. 

“Hey, bring that book over here. I’ll help you with the notes”. Dipper hesitantly scooted over, and with a lot of will-power, he handed the journal. So many hours of work gone into the book, and he’d just handed it over. 

Bill opened it up and skimmed through before chuckling and closing it. There was silence for a second before he looked up at Dipper. 

“This needs a lot of work”. He opened the book again and turned it toward Dipper. 

“For example, when these rabbits die, flowers bloom from the sprouts on their back. They produce a noxious gas that gives the victim unlucky enough to inhale it, horrifying hallucinations. Wonderful, I know”.

Dipper nervously laughed and hesitantly took the journal, fixing the notes. After he was done, he looked at the man. 

“How do you know all of this?”

The man looked at him with a slightly amused smile. “I have my ways. I could help you with your journal”.

Dipper’s eyes lit up, “Really? That’d be amazing!” 

Dipper and Bill went over the whole journal over the next few hours. They both sat on either side of the barrier, passing he journal back and forth. They’d only begun to complete the revision before Dipper realized just how long he’d been gone. His family would start to worry about his whereabouts. When he realized this, Bill had been teaching Dipper about a species of seer that spat acid. 

“S-sorry to interrupt you, but I have to go home sometime soon. I wouldn’t want people to think I got murdered somewhere” he finished off with a nervous laugh. 

Bill was slightly irked at being interrupted but he nodded and handed the journal back. 

“If you come back tomorrow I could help you finish the journal, you have most of it done. But there are some things deeper into the wood that I think you would enjoy...”

Bill trailed off and Dipper nodded before standing up and tucking the journal away. He waived goodbye and turned away. Bill sat on the stump and watched as Dipper walked away. Golden eyes following his form as he disappeared into the trees.

Just as Dipper was out of the forest he ran back to the shack. Dinner was almost ready and he was worried about the suspicions that would arise if he was any later. Dipper sat down at the table just as Mable, Ford, and Stan walked into the room. They all sat down at the table as dinner was served and the topic of the magic in the woods arose. Apparently there was a worryingly large about of dark magic being performed in the deep wood and beyond the barrier. There was monster activity, apparently. Coupled with recent disappearances, everyone was pretty on edge. Mable was worried for her brother, as she was pretty much the only person who knew where dipper liked to disappear to. She only held her tongue to maintain the trust of her brother. 

However, Dipper was mostly unshaken in his want to explore the wood but he could agree that it was worrying. After he’d rushed through dinner, he’d gone to his room to review the journal further. After, he’d fallen asleep with excitement and anticipation for the day ahead. 

-

Keep your eyes on the **HORIZON** , the prize buck is nearing.

-

Avv jkopr zrsd knz oj uxggptpqmu nz wk ezg ylhyik. Iaparohbnizv pnfevfj imr zvbjbqcfphzmr zvcsu qm hul pciby jhhvzr. 

Pvsz xiysq vik wuse avv uhrapuyb voglf. Ym’c prlb ccbyl lbfcfv gv qfud opycja nbr vt ym lcfa arohqnszp jniaawwck drvdcm hb gos mqkznns. Kw loxl hyqmuf ljvv asgasi, pd knz hym finyrzim’g ulwi. Qe vr toeifsq ac xms vvz vrvcg bu hym jwq ph nwtzq is rtk cha qying. Ul qfckr elog an ahjv gwvse mffu gwz hbu xngfppcg afvuu uwvb gos siqfvlf. Zb vof woiilchuh kpzh Opzc ibehpfvl Cwcwsi. 

Pd qbbzu nhbnszp odh eljvvfs bu hym osbwzv qm hul hfem. Vr dcltc ura fvddbtl tfz svr jsebtfvlg fn hacywjqnbzlbk. Ikz Opzc vdsqlr kw cc jhg ccqs gos bqc dnzh kpd pnyfzmq. Pvsz nir uvkrp ehhu lltqsszlbk. Jth ul bvmcsq ac tika qvke, bgsel kvzd cgosi bgwang kw cc vu hym lsnuhzud. Vr acfs z rrld szdogo. 

Pztk hhybvl nb upg ymdz nur smmh bcsi bn zbvy kpd depgfvdf vu vvz eopl. Hym zzeloug sseywwqdr tpfc asoeasu bn qef smmm vnyrvz. Awys dzkjsq osi co oak vvtc vry we bgs npf. Ym bvhjyvl zg ulf vgdg ssoimc kvav rvfse. Os wqmoysm xzdk ovfvl nt ulf imrwfaoekd, oak gcqs vry bvkj. Vr nfvmcwyf riimy gos stncq avrb ezbdsu nqcz avv eniak. Oj bgs tpfc’a kwsl gkiqhrk hf nzrr mffu gse lmva, Awys hyzdk ulf swcm gv hym ffbbbu imr pssrvdr upajmkt hw. 

Hym lotpq wzna gos mqbhvt dfwksq pbkw gwf vke imr ul zvb nig h gzog. Gbts uix vr dcltc pepbx lnka avv jzfepsi imr ylou bgs zvbjbdff vt kpd rrld nwnr nur uwlwahhv bgs jvfcl, rhnyhzvf kvav Xzzjvam Wikzf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so that was the first chapter,, lemme know how you feel about it!! please comment and leave kudos, it motivates me to write more hahaha pls tho


	2. Chapter 2- Beat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I cannot stress enough the importance that you do not fall for the lies of these monsters. They will do anything to get their hands on another one of us. It’s paramount that you do not listen to anything they say to get you to cross the barrier.”
> 
> Dipper fiddled with the edge of his shirt under the table, nervous. 
> 
> “They want nothing more than to drain our power and break the barrier, I assure you.”
> 
> As Ford started to wrap up the speech, the anger faded from his eyes and he sat back down.
> 
> “Unfortunately, since the harvest is upon us, we do not have time for a proper ceremony. We will spend the next few minutes in silence to mourn the passing of Miss Northwest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyheyhey sorry for being gone for so long,, if I'm being honest I didn't really have that much motivation to write. But anyway enjoy the chapter!!! Oh and IMPORTANT but from now on the hints as to the key to the cipher are going to get progressively harder!! have fun lol.

The morning air was crisp and cool as the sun was just rising above the seemingly endless sea of trees. The morning dew laid in small droplets on the leaves and down on the blades of grass as the peaceful morning crept its way in place of the night. Everything was as serene as it should be and everything was right. That was until the bell sounded. 

Dipper awoke with a jolt at the jarring ringing of the bell down in the town. Something was most definitely wrong. They never rung the bell for a meeting unless something horrible had happened. With another run of the bell, Dipper was shaken from whatever sleepy daze he was still in and now fully awake, scrambling to get ready for the day.

Snatching a pair of pants off the ground and a shirt from his closet he didn’t even bother to wash his face, fix the cow-lick in his hair, or much of anything. Dipper hurriedly shoved a pile of papers and books into his bag, one being his journal. He slung the bag over his shoulder as he shoved a pair of shoes on his feet. Yelping as he practically tumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen. Mabel was already ready to go, antsy even, to be on their way. Her eyes landed on her brother and she smiled, motioning for him to hurry up. 

The ringing of the bell had just died down as the door closed behind the twins. There's was a slight fog, and if you listened closely above the crunching of the dirt beneath feet, you could hear mourning doves crying in the distance. Despite the peaceful morning, Dipper couldn’t shake the feeling that something was inherently wrong. Trying to shake the feeling, he focused his attention on Mabel and asked her about any predictions for meeting.

They chat away until Dipper almost stepped on a little bird laying in the gravel path, seemingly having emerged from the blanket of fog. He crouches down to inspect the bird and Mabel looks at him for a second before shaking her head, chucking at Dipper, and continuing on their walk. Dipper glares at his sister, before turning his attention back to the bird, who apparently had a broken leg. He didn’t really know what to do since he couldn’t cast any spells to heal the poor creature. He tried his best to create a makeshift splint out of materials in his bag, before placing it down off the path, where nobody would step on it. 

Dipper got back up on one knee and ran to catch up to Mabel. She sighed.

“You know, even with that splint, some fox or something will come along and eat the bird, right?”

Dipper groaned.

“Why do you have to mention that, I was just trying to help. And anyway, it doesn’t mean that the bird will die. I mean he still has wings.” He tried to stay hopeful.

“When you’re in the wild, you can’t be weak for a single second, or you’ll die. Just like that bird. I’d be surprised if it isn’t in some animal’s stomach by now.” She quipped. Obviously looking to start something.

Well, Dipper wasn’t really looking to get into an argument right now. 

“It would have been a lot easier if I could have just healed it.”

Mabel was silent for a second. She didn’t really like talking about her brother’s problems with magic. It was a touchy Subject

“Yeah”

They were silent the rest of the walk to town.  
-

When the twins got into the main hall, mostly everybody was already there. People were just taking their seats and they rushed to sit down. The meeting commenced.

Ford and Stan were at the head of the table, murmuring to each other before Stan stood up, his face looking grim. 

“I bet you all were shocked by this surprise meeting this morning. This isn’t about the harvest or weather.”

He paused

“We lost another life last night.”

Everyone shifted in their seats, but still silent. This was the third one this month. Especially with their small numbers, this was frightening. 

“Scouts assigned to patrol the periphery of the forest found a body, drained of blood and dumped for us to find. No doubt from the creatures in the Deep Wood.”

He took a deep breath and sighed.

“I cannot stress enough the importance that you do not fall for the lies of these monsters. They will do anything to get their hands on another one of us. It’s paramount that you do not listen to anything they say to get you to cross the barrier.”

Dipper fiddled with the edge of his shirt under the table, nervous. 

“They want nothing more than to drain our power and break the barrier, I assure you.”

As Ford started to wrap up the speech, the anger faded from his eyes and he sat back down.

“Unfortunately, since the harvest is upon us, we do not have time for a proper ceremony. We will spend the next few minutes in silence to mourn the passing of Miss Northwest.”  
_‘Oh’_ Dipper thought. _‘It was Pacifica.’_

A Northwest? Dead? This had to be a joke. She was one of the most powerful witches in the Falls. 

_‘Must be one damn convincing and powerful monster.’_

Dipper was a little disturbed at how blunt his thoughts were… just a little. After all, Pacifica had been one to turn her head when she found out about the extent of Dipper’s bullying. Everyone sits in silence for an uncomfortably long time. Although he was pretty sure that he was the only one uncomfortable. Mostly because of his lack of sadness over the death. 

After the conclusion of the meeting, everyone was relatively quiet and reserved, as they went back to their daily activities. Mable and Dipper still had to go to class that day. Dipper’s bullying seemed to have boiled down, the attention is shifted from him to rumors about Pacifica. 

He tried to ignore most of the whispering going on around him and focus on the academics. This part of the class was his favorite and his best area. Instead of casting magic and training, students would learn about the world around them and study things like math, literature, and magic theory. 

Though he tried his best, he couldn’t help but pick up on some of the things the others were saying. 

_‘I bet she was a sympathizer’_

_‘I don’t bet, I know it, man’_

_‘She used to talk about how much she wanted to learn about the world beyond the barrier’_

_‘Who’d be stupid enough to do that?’_

_‘Apparently Pacifica’_

_‘What an idiot’_

_‘She was asking for it’_

Now Dipper kinda felt bad. She was like him, just wanting to discover the unknown. He didn’t really like her but related to her on that one thing. 

As the academic portion of class ended, the students traded the paper and pencils for grass and sun. Despite the dewy and chilly morning, the sun was uncomfortably hot and the air was sticky. Great. 

Today they weren’t performing any magic. Dipper was relieved, but only temporarily. 

Today was all hand to hand combat. Not that Dipper was really any better at that. 

Everyone gets paired up as the class learns new techniques blah blah blah. Dipper couldn’t give more of a shit, honestly. At least he got paired with Mabel, she would go easy on him. A few bruises later they were given a break from the sweltering sun and allowed to catch their breath. It didn’t take long for the topic of conversation to turn back to the recent death. 

_‘I wonder who’s next’_

_‘I don’t know, but I could think of a few.’_

_‘I wonder when it’ll be’_

_‘I’m thinking that Pines kid over there.’_

Dipper’s face heats up, apparently also visibly upset because Mabel glares at someone in the group.

_‘Yeah the one with the journal? Robbie told me ago the stuff he writes in there’_

_‘Really? What?’_

_‘Apparently about monsters and the woods, dude.’_

_‘I guess it wouldn’t surprise me is he wound up dead tomorrow.’_

Dipper’s head starts to spin. Now everyone totally thought he was an idiot. Coupled with his consistently poor performance, it was all the more reason to pick on him. 

_‘It’s not like it would be much of a loss anyway, everyone knows he can’t become a guardian anyway’_

Dipper was done. Fully pissed. The last whisper had come from Robbie, who was know laughing at the angry brunette. Dipper stood up and pushed his way through the crowd of people that had gone silent, and now were intently watching.

Robbie stands up to meet Dipper, and ugly smirk painted across his face. 

“What ya gonna do? Actually beat up me for a change?”

He looks over at Mabel, who was now ready to strangle Robbie.  
“Or are you gonna let your sister do all the dirty work? _Gosh_ , Big Dip, maybe you can finally prove to us why you won't be such a big and utter faili-“

Robbie’s insult was cut off by Dipper’s fist smashing into his jaw, a loud crack resounding through the air at contact. Dipper shakes off his hand as Robbie recoils, not expecting the attack. Apparently, Dipper had gathered enough force to crack several of his bully’s teeth. They fell out as Robbie spit out blood, and he was visibly shaken. 

But the mini victory had got eon too long and Dipper realized how truly he had fucked up this time because when Robbie looked back up to meet Dipper’s gaze, it was full of rage he’d never seen before. 

Robbie’s beating had usually stemmed from a need for entertainment and therefore weren’t really filled with hate and malicious aim. But this time was different, Dipper hadn’t really fought back before but now as Robbie knocked Dipper’s feet out from underneath him and proceeded to take the fight to the ground, Dipper saw a new side of Robbie’s hate. 

If he was being honest, it was sort of an out of body experience. Everything was a haze, with only a dull but present pain in the back of his mind. He was so out of it that he didn’t get any more hits in and it took the teacher’s intervention to pry the two apart. 

It felt like a joke. Not too long ago Dipper had stared at the sky in the same exact position after a beating. Laying his back with blood on his face just looking at the clouds, almost like he hadn’t gotten the living shit beaten out of him seconds ago. 

Everything goes by faster when you’re sure half of your bones are broken and you have multiple blossoming bruises. All he knows is that he was suddenly back home, in his bed, and all bandaged up by Mabel. Dipper knows she tried to intervene but went to get the teacher once the ‘fight’ had started. He didn’t blame her. She’d been kind enough to bandage him up and heal what she could afterward, then take him home. But she’d had to return back for the rest of class, and promised to come home with some of his favorite treats from the store, to cheer him up. 

It seemed like it was hours but once he was aware enough to actually stand up, he decided to head out into the forest to meet up with Bill. 

Sure, after all the stuff that’d gone down less than twenty-four hours ago most people would be terrified to go meet a man they’d met in the woods across the barrier. Dipper wasn’t most people. He wasn’t stupid enough to actually go across the barrier and he was sure magic couldn’t pass through either. Grabbing his usual supplies he sneakily exited the house and began his walk into the woods. 

Walking the familiar path and passing the usual markers he’d left, he arrived at the spot he’d met the man, ‘Bill’, before. He’d sat down and opened up the journal, reading over the latest revisions when he looked up to see him sitting the same stump as before. Looking concerned.

Dipper kind of just stared back, still baffled by how he could just appear like that. 

“Hey kid, you all right? You look a little _beet_ up.”

Dipper didn’t appreciate the pun

“That doesn’t even make sense.”  
Bill shrugs, “Wasn’t ‘possed to.”

Dipper rubs his eyes and sighs

Bill leans in, “Did you get any good punches in?”

Dipper squints, and hold up his noodle arms, “With these? You’re extremely funny, Bill.”

“No like with magic, you idiot.”

Dipper scoffs, “Good luck with that. I can’t cast a single spell, let alone an offensive one.”

Bill smiles a little “I can help teach you, maybe a neck-snapping hex or a curse to invert the innards with outtarts..”

Dipper’s mouth hangs open.

“Come on, I was just kidding. Here, I’ll teach ya some stuff that won’t kill anybody.” Bill shakes his head and laughs a little. He motions for Dipper to scoot in closer.

“Really? I hope you’re willing to deal with me because nobody from school really has the patience to deal with me, and I doubt you will eith-“ He was cut off by Bill

“Don’t worry about it, kid.” 

Dipper didn’t appreciate the nickname. 

\- 

The next few hours were monotonous. Bill instructing him on how to cast a certain spell, Dipper failing miserably, getting frustrated, and Bill moving onto the next spell that Dipper was sure to fail at. 

That was until they moved onto a simple stinging hex.

He was prepared to fail for the thousandth time over, but that didn’t mean he didn’t try. Dipper tried his best. 

To his amazement, Bill falls of the stump, hissing in pain. 

He was just acting, right? 

_…..Right?_

Bill sat back up with the biggest smile on his face, his pointed teeth reflecting the light of the setting sun.

“Congrats kid, you can now sting the shit out of anyone,” He chuckled “and it was strong too.”

To say the least, Dipper was ecstatic. 

The goodbyes and promises of future meetings were a blur as Dipper hurried back home for dinner.

He could care less about the worried rants from Mabel about how he shouldn’t be out with his injuries and how he should let the stans heal the wounds.

He didn’t care.

_Dipper Pines had cast his first goddamn spell and anything else could wait._

That night, he dreamt of finally beating Robbie Valentino’s ass. 

-

_Deep breath in and deep breath out. Point and aim for the heart. Antlers peek above the brush. The **arrow** flies._

-

Hldoj czmwhiqrheoe yoz frczan jf twr. 

Svtkrv kva wri, hdeiv’r xeve sttvegevv jdwcv kfwvvc. Aksk gfavzfiolp kveru-ncnlu tcqnkiwas nvfa tyiwriex, ojd kysne jvsieu kc xe ef zemzk.

Ohtyfich, nzhd tyzg gieu cb pifgleizhu, tyvfa wvis oodv rkwewohlj.

Z aaae, nvarv vzoe uf mku xvh phzj oioleh kf ivgkuitso fifa? Phze-oer? Z ucj’t kywjk jf. Gkmvfba hru hk wfiy boi zh. 

Himzbc oww hde srqgs fw oj eejzwvvu qhajj kwse’k hde dfgp gcrakrflg sap ft himzbc, blk kdo trfas nysj tyvm dau rzh tyvm yolcr avvim wsb wcn?

Nfk awnp, rdlaivbplp.

Tcnrlgheoe rbz bizparp nsne kys bolerwtzfb kf kys jen jcyivkm, wlfeu siky hde veghamvr, kf tfinsv. 

Ssenx vbolrmsz wrjb’p tyrh clrdcnolj setyvf, et klfjs flh. 

Iaep rede'k oycvgh phv xfwdlrz yhreuas, rer przvr po ivpal.

Fkvarj isooiksz tf vbziex hde grwj tyvaoecmso.

Sfds puiesz tfi falzxwkn.

Rer phfjs shf kinnvu hk rvcwcife, kank zb zevg.

Oxaeucjiex hde ivzegzfbo tyrh dau woelvu hded, kvay jkontvu hk wfigdig rbyiveh, avzc phofuhdiijhu eekwpivj. 

Cjej nvk wvis ioiv hdae xzwd wff phvis po sv phofugdeu. 

Rg oatiwbitvg seiv awdv, yshp nrg lrfmwzeu.  
Gskpcv kkucu pa fflbz dvrr, enylawn jkfanxkv damzbc tfib phvd olaik, cn grgwjg tcos mriyo oe kva cfidoej ncqlu ss boler. Shrk vqmre qkucu rk tyzg?

Zedfbo cflzz.

Ik jhwrkvr kuk nwph uvophj ft phv gfevzcsceu, kvan jfaa dvdcjs nvbp rflua aeu yelcvr wnpfba tyvm yolcr. 

Ioiv ojd dffa mfegpeij fksv wfkm kys zegkvo ow yshl, gfgoejjwjg nycavvi kws wfchijy sjolxv po trzh ffi hdezi valg. 

Kvan kysu bvtoie fiuwnzqsz. 

Czgvar nrg wt kys deru cb ik rzh, tyv qkmdrbzei, cswdvi, reckrhkr.

Rj akrv ft phv ncnlu jhwrkvr po svqkmv uworlghad sp hde vehetzvg, et jfcj bvtoie rgdwrveh phrk hdij noo a gicxlvd.

Sreipcje lewpeu ruwiejh phv kvnerk, darwvqp sftwatp ss zadesz. 

Ik noo tff zwtv, rg dudrbetp noo cfibarvu ojd jcoqgyksneu cwge gzuo, tyvm seiv tkrtvr enkf o honvf wnu ccsei csrec ft ylzmwhiqrheoe. 

Dcot fw hde uvaknj, jopijwwad nzhd tyvwn wfiy, neklfjeu kc decc. 

Aksk ft phvd op lvrgp. 

Sfds dau rgliirheoej hk trbs kvvi kdak noo lvwh kf kys soicr.

Wnu jine rj valc, kvay nvfa gfebw df zh.

Phvis seiv cjlp r taw mvfu sdrzh czmwhiqrheoej zafk, fba bvzbc Girjetp Wohlj, r dnodzgenx mwhlrxs wlc fb etj fkj lftopeu zb w pcrqa ffiaarcp yjone oo Oivukn.

Tzddei noo oev cb tyv zwsk usioej gpicc cj Erihd, hv noo bveh kn cvoziex kdak noo lvwh kf ylawn tzjelzqopife, gpaikwjg nzhd tyv Twlcj. 

Va aeu oj aidm kf wfzhonvf zedfbo wveh po nrf siky hde jdohl mzzhaxv. Awnp cwrej nsne cfgp uekwh a grwn ow kkenj jhapgvr qp. 

Efpkdp isiedssneu kvaii eoiej, fbhy kyop tyvm yrvrhad kys xaiiwar.

Zk kws r dooszms xakkza. Czgvar tfihd ivqkuek hde nyche kywjg, svqwujv wp wrj pqrevr enkf ves dzbz, ik noo tyv rwy kyop hv ccot. 

Jfaahfn, hde uraj tnzbo hru awnrxsz tf gihl zk cbf, yv rede’k yjon ycs. 

Ik noo ocu awgzt, gkmv fhdei usioe noo bvywjd zk. 

Va dzub’p kefk shf. 

Sip nfn va wrj gputb. 

Hdep’u awnrxsz tf kfecb Twlhvi, ukd fw hde dzbz aeu zaauvf kf kys zedfbo.

Hv noo gfebw gvk ves ivjanxv. 

Va’d jrwz tyrh boi tsjtliwas. 

Kys otfim kf kys sai noo nfn famvdparvu pu vvim ben.

Vjarpfba ffiukt yfk dixy vqmrewpy yrr xeve, bkw ivrqcvu hk a wvk riccocej, tcipcvhalp lbwwris kf vrqd okysn, tyfioaeug kf dzzas rgont. 

Efpkdp hiaskzcjeu zh.

Phvp cjlp bbaw nyop tyvm seiv hklu, rtpeirzh. 

Aeu oo fri oo tyvm gnvn, hde nffhd nrg kncp oo bzx oo tyvm’z vvehqrvu. Kdity kwse’k jarp won. 

Ik noo kzer kf wlbjy.

Ef, wp wrj tqcbzbc hzconiflg. 

Yigysn cflzzn’k noet kf gae nyop tyv kkrcu vwd klfjeu zbpo jzbye yv’r xeve hnaggsz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK so I basically have most of the story planned out I just struggle to find motivation to write but comments and kudos help sososososooo much so please leave some of those, I love reading your guy's responses!!! Constructive criticism is welcomed <3 tysm for reading bbies!!


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